Fitbit founders launch AI platform to help families track their health

Fitbit founders James Park and Eric Friedman have was announced the launch of a new AI startup called Luffu that aims to help families proactively monitor their health. The duo is developing a “smart family care system” that will start with an app experience and then expand to hardware devices.

Two years after leaving Google, Park and Friedman are betting on artificial intelligence to help ease the mental burden of caregiving. According to a recent report63 million, or nearly 1 in 4, US adults are family caregivers, a 45% increase from 10 years ago.

Luffu uses AI in the background to collect and organize family information, learn daily patterns and flag notable changes so families can stay aligned and address potential wellbeing issues.

“At Fitbit, we focused on personal health — but after Fitbit, health for me became more than just thinking about myself,” Park said in a press release. I was taking care of my parents from across the country, trying to juggle my mom’s health care across multiple portals and providers, with a language barrier making it difficult for her to be fully informed in a timely manner about doctor visits. I didn’t want to constantly check in and she didn’t want to feel followed. Luffu is the product we wished existed.

The pair note that today’s consumer health market is filled with tools for individuals, but that real health is shared between partners, children, parents, pets and caregivers. Family information is scattered across devices, portals, calendars, attachments, spreadsheets and paper documents.

With Luffu, people will be able to track their entire family’s data, including health statistics, diet, medications, symptoms, lab tests, doctor visits, and more. Users can record health information using voice, text or photos. Luffu proactively monitors for changes and displays information and alerts, such as abnormal vitals or sleep changes.

The couple Axios said that people can ask questions using plain language to ask about their family’s health, such as “Is dad’s new meal plan affecting his blood pressure?” or “Did someone give the dog its medicine?”

“We designed Luffu to capture the details as life happens, inform family members, and highlight what matters at the right time—so care is more coordinated and less chaotic,” Friedman said in the press release.

People interested in Luffu can join the waiting list for the limited public beta.